Lingerie Football League shedding lingerie, and not in the fun way
In a move sure to polarize fans of what is billed as the "Nation's fasted growing sports league," the Lingerie Football League has announced plans to rename itself the "Legends Football League." As part of the move, the LFL will be ditching the thing that made the league noteworthy in the first place: lingerie.
Lingerie Football League shedding lingerie, and not in the fun way
Ryan Petzar
In a move sure to polarize fans of what is billed as the "Nation's fasted growing sports league," the Lingerie Football League has announced plans to rename itself the “Legends Football League.” As part of the move, the LFL will be ditching the thing that made the league noteworthy in the first place: lingerie.
The league announced the change in a press release this afternoon. Other changes include new team logos absent of "sexy female figures," redesigned shoulder pads to increase protection, and changing their slogan from "True Fantasy Football" to "Women of the Gridiron."
Click here or here for photos of the Philadelphia Passion.
The players will no longer wear modified bras, panties, and garters while playing tackle football on turf (ouch!), instead favoring more traditional performance wear which will “replace all lingerie aspects” of the league’s uniforms.
The league is billing it as “the next step in the maturation of our now global sport.” It goes on to state that the change was made to stop being “viewed as a gimmick” and legitimize the sport by focusing on its athletes’ talents, rather than their bodies.
It’s a good move, if you ask me. More importantly, it’s the right move. I wonder how many potentially fantastic football players didn’t get into the league because they didn’t look as good in their skivvies as a less athletically-gifted player. If you’re going to market the league based on football alone, you better make it so the best players can play, no matter what they look like.
But it’s also worth wondering what impact this will have on the league as a whole. Are the sell-out crowds the league boasts about showing up to watch the exciting seven-on-seven play? Did the LFL become the first female sports league to get its own videogame because of the novelty of football with no punting or kicking? Are Philadelphia Passion fans showing up to the Wells Fargo Center to watch the athletic prowess of the players?
Let’s face it, probably not. After all, the video posted by the league to accompany the press release still shows LFL players pumping iron and doing calisthenics in the skimpiest workout gear imaginable with occasional close-ups of their hard, sweaty bodies. But at least we can get away from the wink-and-nod marketing of the league that danced around the fact that you were basically seeing an angry, mutated version of the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.
When the dust settles, it’ll be interesting to see what happens to the league. Can the LFL succeed where leagues like the Women’s Professional Football League, the National Women’s Football Association, or American Football Women’s League before it failed? Or will a move away from that which made it unique -- T&A – doom the league to the same fate as the others I just mentioned: DOA?
This is the dumbest ides since the USFL decided to compete with the NFL.— Phillies2008WSChamps- Homer Simpson would be smarter than this.— fmMD
- Are you folks out of you mind.... without the sexy uni's it will be a bust. That was half the entertainment! Now it's just like watching girls sports... ughhh! So the league is going to go bye bye.........— davenash60
- It was never anything more than bush league operation in my humble opinion!— ED4050
- No one cares about women's sports professionally.. No one! the WNBA is an annual money loser and is only in existence because the NBA bankrolls it in the hopes it can attract those same fringe customers to watch the men's game... Twice in a span of 5 years, women's soccer leagues have folded. A third league is being attempted this spring w only 4 teams... yeah, good luck! No one has any interest in women's professional softball, hockey or even the LPGA... Unless a woman is scantily clad, who sincerely wishes to bother watching the play sports?— Dutch10
- Let me guess....This was all Howie Roseman's idea?— Mike Boryla
- It's not going to polarize fans, it's going to lose them...starting with this one, you idiots! Quit trying to make everybody PC, were not.— chuckt63
- "Or will a move away from that which made it unique -- T&A – doom the league to the same fate as the others I just mentioned: DOA?"
Oh gee,I dunno,take a wild guess.— red rock - Regardless of what alot of pervs on this board say I think its time to move away from the gimmicks. I've seen a few games and these girls can actually play the game. They're tougher than everyone commenting here including me because I can honestly say there is no way I or anyone else here would play football underwear on turf or any other surface.— realtruth
- Wow!! do they actually think people go to those games to watch football??? The only reason people go is to see the women in there lingerie with the hoped that something will be pulled down or off. This has to be the dumbest decision ever in the history of womens sports. This league will fold at mid season— MrSmithTP
- At least, if they change their business model, they will die an honorable death.— Phlash
- Just wonder if they will at least have midriff jerseys?— tuffdaddy
- who wrote this stupid article? only a liberal newspaper could endorse such a stupid move as this. if i want to see women pretend to be men, i'll go to a LGBTA rally. the whole point was hot bodies running around in sexy lingerie, not sports! that was the WHOLE POINT!— Mr.Sinatra
- Vince McMahon please step in and buy this league— fuss77
- um as a FAN I am ok with this. They put on a good show and play pretty well— Iknowyourider
